...is having to vote in a referendum on whether or not the government should impose same-sex marriage. The Irish Bishops have issued a pastoral letter with a sound and useful message on the subject. They are to be commended. Politicians seeking to impose the planned law are making some very poor attempts to justify themselves...the whole project has a silly sloganised feel to it.

It would be glorious if Ireland could have an outbreak of quiet wisdom, kindness, and common sense and vote "No".

...about the Harry Potter books. There's a whole urban-myth thing that has developed about them that has its fans "Didn't you know that in fact there's secret witchcraft language in there? Oh, it's all been researched..." and mothers who believe all this have banned the books from their homes and urge others to do the same. I'm unconvinced,

...from Catholics who describe themselves as Traditionalist (often with a captital T) and who don't like the way Pope Francis talks. They seem to feel that they ought to feel all comfortable and gosh-this-is-absolutely-right about everything that a Pope says and does. And they get angry when they don't feel that way. They panic and worry and write a lot of complicated stuff. Some get postively weird about it...

Ordinary orthodox faithful Catholics don't feel this way. It isn't the way ordinary faithful Catholics are. I like and admire a lot of what Papa Francis is doing and saying. But even if I didn't, I wouldn't panic about it. I remember reading a book about Pius IX - he's been beatified - and deciding that he was on the wrong foot on a couple of tactical issues, and not particularly aware of damage done - I don't think I would have been a great fan of his (though the book enthused about him and apparently he was a perfectly jolly soul with people he knew and liked, said his prayers faithfully etc).

You don't have to worship Popes. You can stand and cheer a Pope simply because he is the successor of St Peter. Or you can cheer with a full heart - as so many of us did with beloved St John Paul the Great and beloved Papa Benedict when they each came to Britain - because you also have deep affection, admiration and love added to the knowledge that this man is Peter's successor.

But you are perfectly entitled to have reservations about a Pope's tactics or conversations. There's no need to panic, and no need to wish him ill. Think Catholic, don't give yourself a factional label, and be prepared to think along larger lines.

...that stands for Human Life International, a group run by the splendidly energetic Patrick McCrystal...we gathered at a large hotel on the outskirts of Dublin. Excellent talk from Joseph Meaney, HLI representative in Rome...discussing the Synod on the Family, the recent gathering of large families addressed with such enthusiasm by Pope Francis, etc...

Friday, January 30, 2015

...to give a talk at a conference in Dublin. My self-chosen topic for my talk is St John Paul and his message about family, human dignity and the value of each human life. His message is not widely understood. People like to think of the Church as having "strict rules", which can be affirmed, broken, or changed depending on whether or not you agree with them. But it's not like that at all. God calls us to fullness of life, to be part of his glorious idea for his beloved humanity - humanity so beloved that he arrived to become one of us...and the Church is custodian of the truth of all that, and can too easily mess things up if she becomes a nagging voice talking about rules instead of a mother who explains and teaches and cherishes the truth...

...brings a lot of comment about planned legislation to make it easier for women to allege rape. Apparently there is a plan to make it legally neccessary obtain evidence of full consent before sexual activity commences. There are all sorts of obvious flaws to this scheme, and all sorts commentators are pointing these out. But one commentator today starts her full-page analysis in the Daily Mail with the chatty statement that "We've all done it..." referring to meeting some one casually - perhaps sharing a taxi and getting chatting, or whatever - and then engaging in sexual activity. Apparently we are meant to assume that it's an absolutely normal thing to do and that afterwards, one has a bath and perhaps a bit of a weep with a girlfriend while chatting it over, and that's that. Uh??? Does she really, honestly think that's how most women behave? Or are we all meant to pretend that we do?

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

...I reproduce on this Blog an extract from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This is because I want to make a statement about human freedom - specifically, the freedom to state truths that are important and currently unfashionable.

I started doing this because a little while ago some one quoted the Catechism during a conversation about same-sex unions, and was immediately told:"You can't say that!". And I have been told on various occasions that the Catechism "should be banned" or " should be burned".

So:

"Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity. Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. The harmony of the couple and of society depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out.

2334 "In creating men 'male and female,' God gives man and woman an equal personal dignity." "Man is a person, man and woman equally so, since both were created in the image and likeness of the personal God."

2335 Each of the two sexes is an image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal dignity though in a different way. The union of man and woman in marriage is a way of imitating in the flesh the Creator's generosity and fecundity: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." All human generations proceed from this union.

...will be chosen in the summer, and honoured at a Luncheon in October. Nominations are now being sought - you can read more about it here. The idea is to honour Catholic women who serve the Church and the community by neighbourliness and caring for the poor, the sick, the elderly, the imprisoned, helping with education, supporting charities and good community projects...those who are elected as Women of the Year don't get any prize, just warm recognition at a Luncheon, and the whole project is aimed at foistering a spirit of service and general goodwill. Find out more by following that link...

Speaker at this year's Luncheon in October will be Fr Alexander Sherbrook of St Patrick's, Soho.

...in London - Westminster Cathedral glowing with candles and a sense of welcome. Auntie writes each month in the Cathedral magazine, OREMUS. Took a copy to read on the bus going home. The Cathedral has just launched a new group, named in honour of London martyr St John Southworth, to act as guides and to welcome visitors, show the various chapels, etc. Apparently the most frequently asked question is "Is this the place where Prince William married Kate?"

..."Family Hold Back"...the old expression used in Britain when there were unexpected guests and not enough food to go round. You held back, pretended you weren''t hungry, so the guests could eat well.

In today's Daily Telegraph, there is a wonderful interview with the daughter of the founder of Abbeyfield, the network of care homes for the elderly. She recalled her father, Richard Carr-Gomm - a soldier, decorated for bravery in WWII - who raised his family in a household where unexpected visitors could include ex-prisoners, homeless people and - on two occasions - Mother Teresa. On one of her visits, Mother Teresa was too frail to manage the steep staircase, and Carr-Gomm gave her a piggy-back ride.

Carr-Gomm's daughter recalls not only "FHB" being announced by her mother at meals when sudden hungry guests turned up, but also the whole atmosphere of a house where service to others was regarded as the norm and her memories are warm, loving, and joyful...it's absolutely the reverse of so much of today's fashionable thinking on child-rearing and instant gratification - and it's an inspiration. Do read it.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

...with the FAITH Movement, with a talk by Mgr Keith Barltrop, tackling the question of scandals in the Church. It was honest, thoughtful, and extremely useful. He began with the description of the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles - the small community of believers united in faith, holding things in common, praying together, and then at the growth of the Church and the problems that can arise when the Church - or any instiutution - becomes powerful...

Among other issues, he explored how things that can of themselves be good - respect for privacy and confidentiality, or a sense of brotherly unity among priests - can become bad. Much food for thought there...and other issues tackled were the need for good spiritual support for priests, a sound understanding of the Church's teaching on sexual ethics, and an authentic sense of communion within the Church. In this he included a recognition of the different and complementary roles of priests and lay people, and a good relationship between the two - something which is emerging in some of the New Movements although these too can have their problems.

There was much more in the talk, and in the discussions that followed. These Evenings of Faith are provng extremely popular, and the parish hall at Warwick Street is packed. The meetings are held on alternate Tuesdays, starting at 7.30pm: more info here...

Monday, January 26, 2015

...odd the way some words are used. The other day, visiting an Anglican church in London, we came across a group of people who were engaged in something they called an "inclusive Church" project. All part of a lobbying group aimed at the General Synod. Turns out it isn't about an inclusive Church at all...it aims at a specifically exclusive Church, dominated by a politically-correct mindset. It seems that the aim is to squash vocal opposition to same-sex unions, and to take every opportunity of making things difficult for anyone who still opposes having priestesses in the CofE. It's all very sad and somehow has a tired, flagging sort of feel to it. Rather stale jargon, and made-up prayers that deliberately avoid calling God "Father" and so on and so on...I expect they'll do well at the Synod.

The liveliest parts of the CofE are the Evangelical churches that run youth groups and gatherings with rousing hymns and a sense of mission centred on teaching people about Christ. They tend to avoid the bureacratic mindset that produces "non-sexist" prayers and to be committed to a more daring and authentic grasp of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...

...of FAITH magazine plops through our letterbox. A review of two of Auntie's books, Saints and Heroesand Saints and Heroines ..."In writing these books Joanna Bogle has provided an entertaining and robust alternative to reading about celebrity culture. She has presented us with a vision of faith and courage and examples of true heroism."

...we walked from church to church around The Borough as part of Christian Unity week. Southwark is so rich in history, and I've mostly known about London Bridge and the river, and Saxon battles against the Vikings, and so on...but there's simply lots and lots to explore as you walk through the network of streets that lie between the Borough High Street and Waterloo station.

St George the Martyr is all 18th-century-with-high-pulpit, then tucked away in a side-road is a Welsh Chapel, built by the substantial Welsh community that settled in these parts in the 19th century - it's largely disused but, pleasingly, it does host occasional services which the local MP, Simon Hughes is invited to address as he speaks good Welsh... Not far away is the charming garden which marks where a big and once popular "High Church" Anglican parish thrived: the church was hit by enemy bombing in WWII and only one part now remains, owned by the Anglicans but now closed...and then only a few streets from that is another former High Church bastion which also suffered from WWII but has a small house with some Anglican Franciscans in it, who kindly invited us to visit a charming tiny chapel restored in the 1970s...

I had a dozen things that needed doing at home, but am so glad that this cold day of bright winter sunshine was given over to a throrough exploration of a corner of London I have come to love. I first knew Southwark as a young woman, visiting my father's office at Tower House, Hopton Street, next to Blackfriars Bridge. I remember a tall rather bleak building but with superb views over the Thames, and, excitingly, down below, magnificent printing works gloriously clattering and rolling with a satisfying noise, and the smell of ink...

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

...will take place on Wednesday January 28th, starting at 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass), at Westminster Cathedral. Meet on the Cathedral steps. All welcome - no need to book, just turn up. Wear suitable clothes and shoes for walking! We'll be going down to the river, discovering the origins of the Greencoat Boy pub, the Virgin on the Westminster City coat-of-arms, and the name "Westminster" itself, among much else. Come and join us!

And book these future dates in your diary:

WEDNESDAY February 11th - a lunchtime walk. Meet at the 12.45pm Mass at St Patrick's, Soho.,

and, looking further ahead: SUNDAY JUNE 21st, the Martyrs' Walk through London. Starts 1.30pm at the churchyard of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, (near the Old Bailey - nearest Tube is St Paul's). Finishes with Benediction and Tea at Tyburn Convent.)

And if you are teaching at a Church of England or Roman Catholic primary school in Greater London, your pupils can take part in the great "Our Father" project. Send a Comment to this Blog, WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS AT WHICH I CAN CONTACT YOU, and I will arrange for you to be sent details.

Monday, January 19, 2015

...by which I mean not the pink squares of meat that we used to have fried in batter as Spam Fritters, but that sort of junk email that begins "Dear Friend, I am In Need of Help and Kno That you will be of Good Kindness" and asks for your bank account details.

But I discovered today, following an anguished phone call from a work colleague "Why haven't you answered my emails?" that a number of emails from friends and colleagues have, over the past three to four weeks, gone into the SPAM folder on my laptop. AAAAARGH!!!

I have now tackled all the emails - not without embarrassment and difficulty - but the Comments sent to this blog have proved impossible to recover. One can't post them once they have been deemed to be Spam. Alas...

While I was tackling this, a colleague had to deal with the horrible mess resulting from his email having been hacked...

And we both agreed that the whole Internet thing is, at best, a very very mixed blessing.

(according to TV and internet) attended Mass celebrated by Papa Francis in the Philippines, in horrid weather but with huge enthusiasm. Golly. Even if it was half or two-thirds of that number, it's an awful lot of people.

Next time you are told the Church is dying, remember that.

The Church is growing and growing: 653.6 million Catholics worldwide in 1965, and the latest figure is 1.229 BILLION.

BTW, an interesting analysis of the situation of Catholics in the USA is here...

Saturday, January 17, 2015

...this week at the church hall at 24 Golden Square WI (near Piccadilly CIrcus) was excellent. The speaker was Fr Stephen Dingley, who lectures at St John's Seminary, Wonersh, and looked at the whole question of human life and its meaning, tackling the deep questions. Do human beings have an eternal destiny? Are we different from animals? Why is the universe here? And even: what makes us want to ask these questions?

The hall was full. These Evenings of Faith conclude with wine and pizza and much talk. Lots of young people, mostly students. Older people are welcome too, of course. The hall is in the crypt and . on a winter night, going down the iron steps in the dark and into the warm glowing room has a slightly early-Christians-meeting-in-secret feeling to it...

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Please pray for the dear soul of Jenny Bogle, beloved wife of Professor David Bogle, and mother of their young daughter. Jenny, a much-loved sister-in-law of this writer, died this morning after a long illness.

A loving wife and mother, a gifted musician, a woman of courage and kindness.

...are organising a YOUTH RETREAT for the weekend of Feb 14th/15th. It will be led by the priests of the Community of St John and will take place in Ipswich, Suffolk. The theme will be The Mass, with teaching sessions on what the Mass means, liturgy, sacrifice...

Ipswich is easily reached from London Liverpool Street and from Cambridge. Cost of the weekend is £30, with reductions for siblings. More info from Mary Lennon on 01449 723636 or email paulmichaelkeennan@hotmail.com

Sunday, January 11, 2015

...it was glorious to walk along, and feel at one with centuries of London's history. Always feels weird pottering along a stretch of land that will be underwater in an hour or so. The press recently highlighted a ship that went aground in the Channel - there's a sandbank that is revealed at low tide, and men sometimes go out there to play cricket, just to show that it's possible...

I've been reading a life of John Wesley, simply because whenever I go to the College library in pursuit of my post-graduate work, I always take away something to read on the train home, and after starting with WWI ( because of the anniversary in 2014 etc) I am now working my way back through the 19th and 18th centuries. I find that tackling modern history in this way works well after a few hours spent with Polycarp and Irenaeus and pondering Nicea and Chalcedon...

The bells of St Paul's were pealing out as I made my way along the riverside, and then I was met by the peal of St Saviour's as I hurried through the Borough Market for Mass at Precious Blood Church.
A full church for the 11 am Mass, and we had a retired "Flying Bishop", Mgr Edwin Barnes, concelebrating with the Rector...later, making my way to Islington on a family visit, walking along by the canal, I found myself pondering the long, long history of Christianity in our land...

Saturday, January 10, 2015

...on Wednesday morning I happened to have a thoughtful and rather moving discussion with a Moslem girl. She had seen me using my rosary and asked me about it. We had a quiet talk about God and prayer...something rather special in a random meeting in busy London...

Later that day the ghastly murders took place in Paris.

Mutual respect and neighbourliness is central to a civilised society. In the discussion with the Moslem girl, we didn't get on to the subject of whether or not Mohammed is an authentic prophet. I don't think he is. And I believe that his followers are wrong in claiming that Jesus Christ didn't die on the Cross. They are muddled and confused, and it is right that there should be open discussion about this. In our conversation, we didn't cover these matters: we were strangers who simply got talking, and it was good to be thinking of God together.

I hope that over the next years it will continue to be possible to talk about religion in an ordinary way. I hope that I will be allowed to repeat the statement that I have just made above about Mohammed. I inmtend to do so from time to time, as a quiet statement about freedom and integrity.

Friday, January 09, 2015

...a priest in Australia who supports same-sex marriage and priestesses. You probably won't find much about this on the ramblings of self-appointed Guardians of The Catholic Tradition who write pompously and whose hatred of the Holy Father keeps bubbling up. Nor will the general mass media pick up the story. Read about it here...

...a lengthy discussion with a longstanding friend, a devout Anglican. A classicist, a fine teacher, and a generous and large-minded lady whose ideas and conversation are always of interest...she has long been very unhappy at the C of E's wobbling on issues such as same-sex unions or remarriage following divorce, and its imposition of priestesses. She has friends who have joined the Ordinariate or have been thinking of doing so, but is herself unconvinced about specific aspects of Catholic belief, especially Marian doctrines. She is glad that at present she can worship in a church near her home where there is a clergyman who opposes the ordination of women, and where, at least for now, there is no prospect of a lady bishop interfering with things..."and you can't plan ahead, you can only trust God..."

We have been friends for years, and worked together on a number of projects: our friendship is centred on shared beliefs and values. But the notion that Catholics have warped ideas on Mary run very deep in much Evangelical literature and culture...affecting a great many people who are also unimpressed when they see what appears to be weird activity with people kissing a statue or putting coins under it etc etc...

I think at one level there is a recognition that popular Cathlic piety and traditions should not be mistaken for idolatry...but there is also a feeling that, while the authority and strength of the Church are to be valued, these are swamped by a "clutter" which is unacceptable, or sort of alien.

Yet the CofE through which she has encountered Christ and which has nurtured her faith over the years is no longer something on which she can rely.

We walked down Whitehall together, as she had a teaching engagement nearby, and I was en route to a meeting too...a London we both love in a country for which we both feel a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility...

Wednesday, January 07, 2015

...with colleague Clare Anderson (see below) working on editing and checking our latest EWTN feature.We are good friends as well as colleagures, so we first enjoyed a late-night talk over mugs of tea, catching up on family news etc. Then thenext day was given over fully to work...and we emailed the resulted to the Director and hope he will be pleased...there is still more to do, and it's been a big project...

Then after a drive through wintry countryside, a train to London for an excellent Epiphany Party held in aid of the Ordinariate. This was huge fun, a good mix of interesting guests, a generous buffet with mince pies (served with Wensleydale chese, as the host was a Yorkshireman...delicious),jugfuls of mulled wine,..

This morning, I took down the Christmas cards and decorations. Christmas never loses its joy and charm. And now January brings its own projects. I'm repacking the suitcase-on-wheels with my laptop and papers for another couple of meetings this evening...

...the beautiful church on the outskirts of Kingston, with a fascinating history now the parish church for the Catholics of Subiton....the funeral of Ruth Real, long-time secretary of the Association of Catholic Women. The church was full, and afterwards there was delicious food and wine in the parish rooms and an opportunity for us all to talk...old friends, a sense of gratitde for dear Ruth's life and her generous work in so many fields...

The parish halls at St Raphael's were originally built as a school for the local poor children, and have recently been refurbished to offer good facilities for parish needs. In addition to the lovely room in which we were all lunching, with its bright and well-equipped kitchens, there is a fine library in whch I browsed, borrowing a couple of good books by and about St John Paul...

Then a walk along the river to catch the train up to London, for a meeting of the Ladies Ordinariate Group - and finally a late train out into the country, to stay with Clare Anderson, my colleague on various TV projects for EWTN.

Because I travel about a lot, I seem always to be trundling a small suitcase-on-wheels, and have discovered that this is turning into a sort of Auntie Joanna trademark - "here she comes, sounding like a railway..." . The suitcase means that I can have my laptop, plus overnight clothes etc, plus a couple of books and the papers for whatever is the latest project - and occasionally also some sewing or other work. I have tried using a small knapsack but I think I look stupid - you can see an example when the latest EWTN programme is aired. I'm wearing a bright red-and-yellow backpack acquired at the Madrid World Youth Day, of which I became rather fond. Looked great at WYD, looks hopeless three years later with a smart jacket-and-skirt-for-TV....

Sunday, January 04, 2015

Yesterday evening, J. and I went to a vigil Mass and then enjoyed a special supper with Christmas-pudding-fried-in-butter and brandy cream...and some delicious damson liqueur (a Christmas gift)...and fudge (ditto)...

...and then at Mass today we had the Blessing of Chalk. Small sticks of chalk blessed in front of the Nativity scene set up in the chapel to one side of the chancel, and then distributed with small slips of paper with the prayer for the blessing of our homes.

Jamie and I first learned of this in Austria, and it is now catching on in Britain. As you say the prayer, you chalk up, over the front door, the initials of the three Wise Men and the date:

20 C + M + B 15

We have been doing it year on year, so all I needed to do this evening as I carried out a chair to the front step and climbed up, was to change the 4 to a 5, while saying the little prayer and making the Sign of the Cross, asking God to bless our home and us in the year ahead...

And this is the prayer:

God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten One to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who live here. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. We ask this through Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Trawling the web, I found lots of good material on this house blessing tradition, and this site is particularly good...

Saturday, January 03, 2015

...HM the Queen has appointed Professor Jack Scarisbrick an MBE. This is a well-deserved honour, and a tribute to his magnificent work in defending human life, establishing the Zoe's Place Hospice, and much more...and a distinguished career as an historian making a superb contribution to the study of the Tudor period and to the religious history of our country.

Jack and Nuala established the LIFE Movement years and years ago...and it was reading one of their booklets that helped me to understand deeply just why abortion was so wrong, and how important it was to prevent it. Over the years, I heard Jack speak on this and related subjects, always with clarity and wisdom, always in a way that made his hearers understand and grasp the issues involved.Then, more recently, he was one of the lecturers when I was studying for my BA, and I realised what a superb historian he was...it was a privilege to be one of his students and he held us spellbound. He was by then Professory Emeritus at Warwick University, and author of a number of books - his work has meant that superficial assessments of the Tudor period have had to be re-evaluated, and old cliches challenged.

All this - plus a geniality and (rare thing) a genuine humility. His many friends will be thrilled that his contribution to our country has been recognised.

...the Polish martyr Jerzy Popieluszko will be canonised. He is already Blessed. A miracle obtained through his intercesssion is required before sainthood can be conferred. Read an astonishing account here...and there is a film about his life, info here...

In October, I spent some time in Poland with colleague Clare Anderson, working on a new TV feature on St John Paul the Great. This was a follow-up to our earlier feature on the life of St JP - this time we were exploring his message and legacy (the programme will be broadcast during 2015 - Clare and I are spending next week working on the editing). .

As part of this new JPII feature, we went to the grave of Blessed Jerzy and its accompanying museum. This was a powerful experience. Jamie and I visited the grave back in the 1980s, when Poland was still under martial law and we were bringing in booklets and other assistance for the then-banned Solidarity groups. In those days, praying at Fr Jerzy's grave meant, among much else, expressing solidarity with Solidarity. And the church at Zoliborz, and the churchyard, and the surrounding area, were "free Poland", a small bit of territory that the authorities could not touch.

And now all of Poland is free, and we are all in a new era with new challenges.

Over the Christmas break, I've been reading a biography of Blessed Jerzy. The story is much more, than just a martyr-under-Communism - although he was that, and his martyrdom was savage. It is also the story of a dedicated priest, a model for today's young priests...and his story needs to be better known and understood here in the West.

..for a course at the new School of the Annunciation, at Buckfast Abbey. I am keen to do the course, which will offer some training in passing on the Faith to the next generation. I already hold a diploma in Evangelisation (from Maryvale) but feel the need to learn more...

And the prospect of a weekend in the glorious setting of Buckfast Abbey in Devon is immenesly attractive. The countryside is enchanting, the Abbey Church is a magnificent place of worship, and it will be wonderful to study in a place of peace and good hospitality.

If things work out properly, I hope to be able to travel on to Torquay, just a few stops down the line, to make a further visit to the Ordinariate group there (see feature below by former BBC correspondent Catherine Utley).

Applying for the course involved getting a signature from my parish priest - who is splendid and always encouraging about this sort of thing - and also writing a 300-word piece about why I wanted to sign up. The short answer is "Because I want to be part of the New Evangelisation". The need is getting urgent. I am probably not going to be much use in evangelising, but at least I'll give it a go...

Thursday, January 01, 2015

... London writer Michael Smith has produced a really good and thoughtful book on the Lord's Prayer. The Fulness of Life: Reflections on the Lord's Prayer for Today's World (St Paul's). It is a rich and beautiful meditation on the prayer, and is also readable and spiced with some strong insights that are highly relevant to the modern world and the ways in which we can serve God and one another.

It's a book written with real honesty: it tackles tough issues like sin, forgiveness, the need for personal repentance, the greatness of God's love and the joy in seeking and following his will for us. And it is not just a personal statement, although it includes some personal insights that give a freshness and humility to the writring. But he also quotes from, among others, St Paul, John Henry Newman, Charles Wesley, Billy Graham, and Benedict XVI,..I very much recommend this book and reading it has been a really good start for 2015.

....with a family gathering on New Year's Eve: a house full of cheery noise and children, and an evening with fireworks and marshamallows and flapjack and party hats and streamers, The fireworks were splendid,, the rockets whoosing up into the sky to our oooohs and aaaahs, and applause muffled by woollen gloves and mittens.

There is absolutey nothing lovelier than sitting sipping a gin-and-tonic in a room full of family, by the light of a glittering Christmas Tree. Heaven will be a bit like that.

We stayed the night in Dorchester on Thames, where the bells of the Abbey were ringing out the old year and ringing in the new, the bells answering each other back and forth with glorious pealing beauty. This morning I wandered around the Abbey - over a thousand and a half years of history.